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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24186928">read between the lines</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/elossa/pseuds/elossa'>elossa</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Never Have I Ever (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, F/M, Movie Night, WHEN DID THEY MOVE IN TOGETHER I FORGOT, at least a solid 95 out of a 100, editing is for the weak™, happens in 1x10 i think????</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:08:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>560</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24186928</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/elossa/pseuds/elossa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>(Devi's life is bold, italicised and underlined, and he wonders how it's taken this long for it to become a mess.)</p><p>/</p><p>aka, what happened on one of the nights when ben &amp; devi lived together</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ben Gross/Devi Vishwakumar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>101</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>read between the lines</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>me: wants to write a really long ben x devi fic<br/>me: wants to procrastinate<br/>also me: writes a ben x devi drabble</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The evening starts as it normally does. Devi wrestles her way into Patti's kitchen to try and see if she can get away with cooking (she can't) and then concedes to spag bol and garlic bread (or something equally flavourless). Devi throws a paper ball at Ben when they exchange flashcards for a quiz and he gets a question right that she doesn't, or groans deafeningly when he makes a damn good point on the essay she knows she can't replicate. They decide after a couple of hours that work sucks and continuing is futile, so they roam the house in search of something to do.</p><p>Tonight, they watch a movie. Ben's favourite is Shawshank Redemption. As one of the pacts they've made since their cohabitation (including not going to the caf together, or going to school together, or going home together), was that they watched something different every night. Devi's managed to get Ben to watch <em>Keeping Up With The Kardashians</em>, or Riverdale, or Teen Wolf (the movie, duh), but he'd put his foot down in History when he'd very angrily texted her <em>'you've chosen 3 times, i'm choosing later!'</em> and she'd texted back with<em> 'K.'</em></p><p>"I dare you to stay alert for the entire movie," Ben says, his smirk wider than an estuary. </p><p>"You know," Devi starts, leaning back on the cinema seat, "there are Bollywood scenes longer than this entire movie. I don't know why you think I'm going to struggle."</p><p>"Lack of musical numbers?" Ben supplies. "This movie is literally the opposite of colourful."</p><p>(It makes him think about how Devi's life is bold, italicised and underlined, and he wonders how it's taken this long for it to become a mess.)</p><p>"Grayscale, then?"</p><p>Snorting, Ben says, "Sure." As he scans the screen for the right film poster, he absentmindedly voices a thought, "Shira would have never let me watch this with her."</p><p>He doesn't notice how Devi's head jerks up from her phone. "How come?"</p><p>"She said if it didn't have Noah Centineo in it, it's not worth watching." Damn, they rearranged the whole selection screen and now everything was impossible to find. Wonderful. "Thank God we broke up so I can watch movies with <em>substance </em>again."</p><p>He doesn't notice the way Devi freezes. "W - what? When?"</p><p>"The day after my birthday. She fell asleep on me and told me I smelled like farts." He puts the remote down; maybe if he waited a minute he'd be able to find the movie. "And that was just like... bullshit I didn't need to put up with anymore, you know? I'm sixteen. I can wait to find a girlfriend that actually likes me."</p><p>He notices Devi frown at him, "I'm sorry, dude. You feeling okay?"</p><p>Ben shrugs. "Eh, the only difference is I don't have to pretend to know what brow sculpting is. It's fine." Finally, he sees the familiar backlit poster with that Papyrus copycat font that made him feel so joyous. "Thank God! You ready, Vishwakumar?"</p><p>He turns to face her the same time she flashes him with that coy grin of hers that kinda, sorta gears him up for something. "Hell yeah."</p><p>(Halfway through Andy's exit from prison, Ben realises that he's part of the decoration that makes up her life too, and it's not as bad as he thought it was going to be.)</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>join me in hell @houseparkinson on tumblr</p></blockquote></div></div>
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